Edna is holding onto her torn school bag as she jogs past the students. It's closing time and a lot of people are already leaving school, but her bladder decides that it's time to get rid of some urine, such perfect timing.
She gets to the bathroom and pushes the door open. She drops the bag from her shoulder and picks one of the toilets.
She gets in and in a few minutes, she is done with her business. Refreshed and all set to go back home.
She turns to the sink to wash her hands and she is still doing this when the main door opens loudly.
It's not strange for people to want to relieve themselves in the school bathroom, but it doesn't happen much around this time of the day because some would rather hold it in and do their business at home.
She turns around expecting to see someone like her, but her eyes are beholding someone entirely different.
This is the girls' bathroom, so what in God's name is Keith Jackson doing here?
His hair is a bit messy and his shirt is sticking from under his blazer and pants. He looks pissed - that's normal because he is always pissed around her, but what is not normal is the fact that he is in the girl's bathroom.
She turns off the faucet and grabs her bag from the floor of the bathroom and contemplates whether to ignore him and leave or speak to him.
"Keith, is everything okay?" She rubs her hand nervously over her skirt as she takes unsteady steps towards the door.
"Happy, aren't you?" His sounds are so full of hate?
"I don't know what you are talking about. " She lies.
She knows exactly what she is talking about and he knows that she does.
" You think you could hide from me?" He walks towards and she backs away.
" Keith, I don't know what you are talking about." She begs.
She knows. She tried to hide from him and that is in fact why she ran into the bathroom in the first place. So that she would sneak away more easily from Keith.
" You think you are smarter than I don't you? Because you got the highest score in the quiz." He looks so mad.
"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."
"I told you I would make you sorry if you ever beat me in class again." He reminds her.
He did, but she didn't take his threats to heart.
He told her to deliberately fail in class so that he could be at the top, but her winning spirit won't let her do that. Now she has to face the consequences.
"You are a girl." He tells her as if she doesn't know that already. " Girls aren't supposed to beat boys like me in the classroom. They are supposed to be in the kitchen or waiting for men in the bedroom, that's where they belong!"
She feels her back against the wall and she flinches as he barks at her. She doesn't know why she is so scared of him or the reason why he hates her so much.
"Keith, please!"
"My Dad told me never to let a girl beat me in anything and I am going to teach you never to come for me." He threatens.
Before she can make any move to defend herself, he grabs her by her hair and pulls hard.
They might be only early teenagers, but he is so much stronger - maybe because he is bigger and eats good food. She hardly eats at home.
"Keith, stop! Help!" She screams.
He hits her head against the wall and that's how she loses most of her strength. She falls to the ground and he gets on top of her.
She starts to sob and tries to fight him off with her feeble hands, but it's not working at all.
She goes for her shirt and rips it apart like it's a piece of paper. The poor shirt is so old.
"Keith! Keith!" She hits his chest with all her might - only if it was enough, he doesn't feel a thing.
Her small breasts are still protected by her brown bra and she holds her hands over them, seeing that's what he would go for next.
He slaps her across the face and grabs her by the throat for trying to resist him.
He uses his free hand to push her skirt up and begins to feel around for the elastic band of her pants.
"Keith! What the fuck are you doing?!"
Edna looks through her tears and she recognizes Malik at the door.
He looks shocked at the sight he is beholding and he rushes at his brother and throws him off her.
"Malik, stay the hell out of this. It's not your concern." Keith warns through clenched teeth.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" Malik flares. " You want to rape a girl?!"
"I want to teach her a lesson and how I intend to is of no concern to you." Keith stands up and dusts his hands. " Let me be, or I am going to tell Dad that you have been goofing around my affairs."
"Shut the hell up!" Malik points a warning finger at him.
Malik goes down on his knee to see if Edna is okay. She is so weak that all she can do is lay on the ground and cry.
She holds her hand over her small breasts, trying to shield herself and keep what is left of her honor.
"Hey, are you alright?" Malik asks. He helps her assume a sitting position and takes off his jacket and wraps it around her.
"Malik!" Keith warns him, but he doesn't listen.
"Go, Edna. Go home." Malik tells her.
She struggles up to her feet with what strength she has left and runs in a zig-zag path towards the door.
"You can't run forever, Edna. I am going to get hold of you again." Keith calls after her.
She doesn't listen as she runs out of the bathroom.
The school is deserted. No one is in the hallway and she keeps running.
It's getting darker in her and she doesn't even know what is going on, but she doesn't stop. It's getting scarier, but she keeps on running.
A pair of strong hands grip her and she screams in fright.
The silhouette comes to light and it's Keith. He has the most sinister smile on his face.
"Gotcha!" He shakes her roughly. " I told you I will get you!"
"No, Keith!" She screams and jumps out of her sleep.
It's only a dream and she is not in her former high school anymore.
She is on a private plane and was taking a short nap when she had that dream and now she is awake.
She is sweating so much and she looks like she has been drenched with water from her head down to her toes. That's not water though, that's all sweat.
She looks around in fright. Keith is not going to jump out from a corner, is he?
"Edna?"
"No!" She screams and jumps out of her seat.
It's not Keith, it's Malik. He is standing at the door with his hand on the door. He looks puzzled as he looks at her.
She tries to arrange her hair and appear less crazy to him.
He comes into the room and she grabs her bag so that she can take out the valium from her bag. Her hands are shaking as she tries to get the cap off.
"Edna, are you okay?" He walks towards her as she takes a few steps back, avoiding his eyes. Maybe that's because he looks so much like his brother.
"Yeah, I am fine. Just had a little nightmare." She nods as she speaks fast. Too fast.
She reaches for the bottle of water beside her, but Malik takes the valium from her.
"Please, give it back." She begs. Her heartbeat is rising and she needs her drug.
"You just took one of these a few hours ago and I think that's enough for today." He pockets it. " Now can you tell me what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." She says in defense. " I just had a nightmare and I need that to calm me down."
She stretches her hand for him to return her prized possession, but he doesn't.
"A nightmare?" He asks. " And Keith was in it?"
She sighs. How the hell did he know that? Maybe she screamed out like she did when she usually has nightmares.
Keith has been in her nightmare since she has been a little girl. He has been the one tormentor of her life.
"Keith wasn't in it." She lies.
She doesn't want to let Malik in on her bad marriage. She doesn't want to wash her dirty linen in public.
" He sure was." Malik insists. " I know you more than you would admit, Edna. Why won't you stop lying to me?"
"Please, the drug."
"I am not giving it to you."
She is so frustrated right now. Her life is hard enough and now he wants to make it harder for her.
"Please, Malik.."
"What was so scary in that dream of yours that I heard you scream from the other cabin?"
"Nothing."
"How about this? You tell me about it and I will give you back your valium."
"That's not fair." She bemoans.
"You don't have any choice." He tells her. " How badly do you want it?"
She looks at his hand in his pocket. She needs it so terrible and even though it is not that fair of a deal, she takes it.
"Fine."
For the next ten minutes, Malik had to sit right through Edna's explanation of her horrific nightmare. What makes it even worse is the fact that this isn't just a dream, it was something that happened in real life and it just remained stuck in her head for so long. Like a loop, each time she goes to sleep, it plays over and over again in her damn head. He was there, he knows. He wishes he had strangled his brother that day and ended it before it even started. How is it that his mother gave birth to someone as evil as Keith?" It doesn't have to bother you anymore," Malik says. His mood has been dampened by what he has heard. " I saved you that day.""Yes, you did. " She looks up and presses her index fingers against tej side of her eyes. A failed attempt to keep the tears where they are. "Don't tell me that Keith did get his way with you after that day." His eyes look hopeless. He knows. He is just holding to a thin thread of hope here. "What do you think?" She waves her hands. "
Just before midnight, the plane touches down at the Gimpo airport, Seoul. Edna is still asleep and she doesn't notice that the plane has landed until she hears the interaction going on between the Crew and the airport workers. She sighs and sits up on the chair, her thoughts are hazy, but that doesn't stop her from getting up and staring out of the window. She sights Malik and the pilot and they are speaking to some Asian men in uniforms. She looks away from the window, whatever it is, Malik will be able to handle it. Her shoes go back to her feet and her make-up out of her bag. She goes into the bathroom and refreshes herself. It might be midnight, but she has to look perfect all the time. When she steps out of the bathroom, Malik is coincidentally entering the plane again. He nearly bumps into her and she is a bit frightened. " Hey. " He says calmly. "We are here." She says as she returns to her seat. "Yes. We are leaving for the hotel anytime soon." He informs her. "Grea
"Malik is such a jerk!" Edna curses under her breath. She knew that was up to something. There was something about the way he wanted to follow her around like he is her bodyguard or something and now she has finally noticed it. "But it wasn't Malik. " Dimore adds. " It was from Mister Jackson himself. "Edna stops immediately. Mister Jackson, her father-in-law?Her blood goes cold immediately. She thought she was smart, but he had no idea that he has been keeping tabs on her, more than she knew. He bugged her, clone her phones, installed cameras in her house and office, cars, and monitored her entire life. How did she miss the fact that he would definitely know about her changing hotels?Dimore's phone rings and he picks it up immediately. He doesn't say more than a handful of words into the phone before ending the short call. "Well, Mister Malik is on his way. " He announces. Edna doesn't say anything. She is raging on the inside of her right now. Why has her life turned out li
She realizes that the desperate urge to sleep has left her and she feels a little disappointed. She decides not to return to bed, but to get ready for the day already. She walks to the bathroom and takes a shower. There is a bathtub in the bathroom, but she decides to say the treatment for another time. Right now, she has to prepare herself to meet this Kim Soo family and make sure that they fall in love with her father-in-law. After the shower, she picks up her phone and rings Kim, her secretary. She doesn't know why she is not here yet. The phone rings for some time before Kim answers her phone. "Kim, I swear to God you can't do this to me. " Edna sighs. " You can't just leave me like this, where the hell are you?""I'm sorry, ma'am. I will get to you as soon as I can. Mister Malik sent me to get you something. " She sighs over the phone. She sounds like someone in a hurry and of the fact that she can't lie to Edna, Edna believes her. But screw Malik. Why didn't he bring one
Getting back into the sky just hours after having landed is not the best feeling in the world, but this is something that they all have to do. By midday, arrangements have been made, a plane has been set and they are heading to the airport. Anna has been kind enough to help Edna pack up her clothes again. Edna decides to go for something more simple than wearing an expensive gown. She wears ripped jeans, a big tee shirt, and a lean Jacket. She has put on some Yeezy shoes too and Anna is attesting to the fact that she looks stunning. With shades over her eyes as they walk toward the plane, she feels like she is going for a vacation and not a business trip. Anna is coming along too and that girl has such a vibe. That should be the reason why Edna feels this trip is more like a vacation to her now. " You are going to love my family. " Anna won't stop smiling. " Honestly, I can't tell why he insists you guys come to see him at the house. He never does that. ""Really?" Edna starts t
" Do you know that Suwon is the only city that remains walled in Korea?" Anna enlightens Edna as both of them stare out of the window as the plane prepares to land. "Wow. " Edna exclaims. " It's such a beautiful sight. "It's surprising because Edna was expecting a vast greenness to be what she would see from the plane, but she can see landscapers, tiny vehicles, and all the many details that prove that Suwon is anything but a small town. It's such an irony that Mister Kim Soo chose to build the family home here and comes back here every now and then for some " peace and quiet. "Seatbelts are in place after the crew came to inform them and then with a screech, the tyres of the plane unfold and touch the runway. After taxing for some time, it comes to a stop and both of them walk out of the plane. It's such a beautiful sky that Edna, for a moment, thinks that this is one of those perfect places from novels. There is not a gray cloud in the sky and happy people are walking around.
Edna keeps smiling as the water in the shower keeps running down her body. That single compliment has left her so happy that she finds herself laughing to herself. All the time that she has been working so hard to please her father-in-law and not get into trouble with him, she had no idea that someone somewhere truly appreciated her. She lets her hands run over her smooth skin as she wishes that Mister Kim Soo was her father-in-law. If he was, she wouldn't be this miserable, she wouldn't have to beg to see her family so much and she wouldn't be this broken woman on the inside of her. After the refreshing shower, she dries her body with a towel and begins to make her way toward the room. She is startled when she meets Anna by the window. She is looking out of it, so lost while looking at something. "Anna?" She calls. She doesn't see her. Anna turns around and smiles. Her eyes lower to Edna's chest before going back up. "Oh my God, your boobs are huge. " Anna comments with a m
After a very thorough bath, she returns to her bed and lays on it. The tears choke her and she whimpers as they trickle down to the side of her face. He is always coming up with new ways to try to hurt her, isn't he? Even though she is beyond his reach, he will always find a way to hurt her. She takes out her phone and sends a text to Dimore and Kim. There isn't any need for them to be helping her around because it turns out that she is going to be having very little to do. She is instructing them to treat this as a vacation and have some fun. She will ask father-in-law to ask his financial department to send them funds. After all, she lays against the bed and clutches her pillow as she continues to cry. She spends a long time like that and doesn't even know when she falls asleep. She wakes up to the soft knock on her door and Anna's small voice asking her to open up. She makes sure to wipe any streak of tears left on her face before she opens the door. Anna has changed into